Fall and Rise
by Phoenix Commander
Summary: Every story has a beginning, this is the story of MSQT, CRMSN, LABS, and RWTH. The rise of three powerful teams of hunters and the fall of one of the strongest to the forces of Grimm. Prequel to Phoenix Rose.


**AN: How's it going everyone? Welcome to the prequel of Phoenix Rose, after this chapter expect this story to be updated alongside Phoenix Rose. I had posted this before but due to lack of a story to build off of it stagnated to the point where it needed to come down. Now it's back, first few chapters will be during "Year Zero" but once the characters are all introduced I'll be time skipping to the unlocking of the cast's aura and moving from there. If you're here from any of my other stories then you know this one will be a very long one. Please do keep in mind that Phoenix Rose was started when the show was still in it's infancy and F &R will be following PR and not the show. I hope you enjoy the journey, keep moving forward, and don't feed the guard dogs! - Phoenix Commander signing off**

 **Thanks for editing MartunaMajor!**

 **I DO NOT OWN RWBY IT IS THE SOLE PROPERTY OF ROOSTERTEETH PRODUCTIONS!**

* * *

 **Chapter One: Beginning**

 _ **Present Day**_

"I bet you are all wondering why I've called you here so early." Martin said, looking at his family and the students that were part of his task-force as they filed into his classroom. As he removed his gloves for the first time in months, he revealed once more a sun shaped scar on his left hand.

"You could say that." Yang answered, stifling a yawn. It was six in the morning on a Saturday, one of the few days she could sleep in.

"Does it have anything to do with our training?" Weiss asked, rubbing sleep from her eyes.

"In a manner of speaking, yes. I think it's about time for a history lesson." Martin answered, pouring the still tired students a large mug of coffee and one of tea for Blake.

"What kind of history lesson, Martin?" The feline-phoenix hybrid asked as she accepted the mug of tea.

"One you all should have no trouble following, but one that will be difficult to hear all the same." The dust weaver replied.

"What's that supposed to mean, Commander?" Haley, the leader of team DRAB, asked, taking a sip from her mug.

"Elizabeth Lupus and Alex Onyx, Daniel Schnee and Mark Belladonna. Cinder Fall, Roman Torchwick, Emerald Sustrai, Mercury Black, Neopolitan. Martin Rose II, Summer Rose, Qrow Field, and Thamior Rose. Martin Rose, Hazel, Watts, and Tyrion. You all know these names and most of their stories, some are still being written, while others have ended. Teams LABS, MSQT, CRMSN and RWTH. You're here to learn how their stories started, how they were written, and to learn from them. The last team stands as the ultimate failure of the Hunter Corp." Martin said, listing off the members of the teams he called family, and traitor.

"You weren't kidding, it will be difficult to listen to some of this. But Mom and Dad kept quiet about the Invasion and the Human-Faunus war. I always wanted to know what it was like for them." Haley confirmed, "Though now I have to ask, where did that scar come from?"

"That will be part of this lesson, won't it, Dad?" Ruby asked, mixing in a little extra sugar into her mug.

"Yes, it will be. I hope you'll take this tale to heart and enjoy the telling, because it wasn't all bad. Much of it was full of happiness. Beside,s it may take a month or so for me to tell you everything I need to." Martin replied, wincing slightly at the amount of sugar he saw disappearing into his daughter's mug. Then he raised his own mug in a toast before beginning his story, "Kill for the living so that they may not suffer evil and kill for the dead so that evil may not go unpunished."

* * *

 ** _Forty-Three Years ago_**

On the outskirts of Vale City, the capital of the Kingdom of Vale, stood Rose Manor, the home of one of the last phoenix-Faunus families. On September 22, 2047 outside the infirmary of Rose Manor, Carver Rose was pacing the floor as he waited for news of his newborn son. He was the Commander of Vale's Hunters, he had faced hundreds of Grimm, and worse politicians, in battle. Yet he had never been this unsettled, his hands unconsciously seeking the comfort of his absent weapon, a black, gold and white four-armed repeating crossbow. The blonde-haired, crimson-eyed archer stopped his pacing at the sound of a baby's cry and that of his wife, Lucia Rose. The door opened quickly and the family's nurse rushed the new father into the room. Lucia's smile rivaled the sun as she spoke.

"Look at him, Carver." Carver knelt down beside the bed and smiled at his son as his eyes opened. They were lilac with a slight tinge of red that was slowly beginning to fade. The boy was also born with blonde hair and broad shoulders. "I guess it safe to say he takes after your side of the family, Dear. Those are definitely your father's eyes." The raven-haired woman said with a tired smile.

Carver reached out and held his son. He couldn't help but laugh as the baby took hold of his father's finger. "Hehe. More than that, look at his shoulders. Look at him, dear. His shoulders and his grip, those are the signs of a marksman. I bet one day he'll either wield a rifle or crossbow."

"What should we call him?" Lucia asked with a laugh. Her husband was like a child when it came to rifles and crossbows. Though his predictions about those who could wield weapons were normally correct. Carver looked at his son thoughtfully. His blonde hair and lilac eyes reminded him of his father. He was the last one in his family to have eyes that shifted from lilac to red. Some took it as a sign of luck, and some as a curse. Those with shifting eyes tended to hide a temper and were at war within themselves.

He shook off the memory of his father's semblance, the control and projection of fire. The semblance of a phoenix Faunus that was connected to the season of summer. The instinct that came with the semblance and the season that was linked to it turned him into a berserker. He was a kind man by every meaning of the word, but when his blood was up, it took a lot to calm him. That was why Carver, and not his father, was chosen by Colonel Oum to lead the Vale Hunter Corp. That very instinct: the nature of fire, the urge to destroy and burn, had to be balanced by the humanity of the phoenix that was connected to fire and the summer season itself. Carver had been spared that difficulty, he had been born with his mother's ability to manipulate shadows instead.

 _"He'll just have to learn to control the fire burning inside him. If he does, he could be a great Hunter one day."_ Carver thought. Lucia coughed lightly to get his attention. "Sorry, just thinking." The hunter said softly. Then he smiled, "Let's name him Martin, and I know what you're thinking. He may share the name, but he will not be like his grandfather. Unlike his grandfather, our son will not be at war with himself forever. He will achieve stratera."

Lucia smiled at her husband and son, not wanting to spoil the precious moment. She couldn't stop wondering though if Martin would be able to temper the instinct to destroy with his humanity, and master his semblance and himself. It was a problem every phoenix born with a season based semblance faced.

* * *

 ** _The Frontier_**

"So, Captain Rose, I heard you became a grandfather today. Congratulations!" A hunter yelled over to his partner as his claw blades tore out the throat of a lunging beowolf. The resulting spray of blood splattered over his sleeveless white jacket.

"Thanks, Tyrion! Watts, Hazel let's finish up here so I can finally see my grandson!" Martin said, pulling a large black and red axe from the corpse of an ursa.

"Understood Martin, though I recommend we return to this area tomorrow to confirm that it's been fully cleansed." Lieutenant Watts suggested, his blood spattered dark blue overcoat, yellow dress shirt, and brown fingerless gloves made him look like he had just performed an autopsy. Looking at the corpse of a nearby boarbatusk, the man might as well have been doing just that.

Watts' partner Hazel, a muscular man with brown short hair, a beard and hazel eyes. He wore a gray and brown coat with yellow buttons and linings on it, and a large belt, spoke up as he looked over the clearing where the Grimm had resided. "Looks like we got most of them though, not too bad all things considered. Makes me almost wish there were more of them around."

"We can't reclaim the area if the Grimm remain here, Hazel." Martin Rose reminded, his axe blade sizzling as he pulsed his semblance through it, flames burning off the black blood of the Grimm.

"I said almost. Now come on, gramps, let's go say hello to the little one and the next member of the Corp." Hazel said, starting off in the direction of Vale City.

"Call me gramps again, Hazel, and my boot will be four laces deep. You will taste leather and whatever I happen to have stepped in." Martin threatened jokingly as he and the rest of his team jogged after the heavyset man.

* * *

 ** _A few weeks later_**

The three phoenix were sitting in Lucia's study while she went over reports from her professors at Beacon Academy, and Carver went over battle reports from his hunters that were posted in the frontier. After finishing a report that told of his father's team fighting a pair of Nevermore, he looked at his son and wife and noticed something that caught his eye. "Well would you look at that, I was only half right." Carver said with a gleam in his eye. Lucia met his statement with a look of confusion. "Martin's eyes have not left your collection of dust crystals or my crossbow once since you brought him in here." He clarified.

The Commander's crossbow was hanging over the fireplace in the study. The arms were black with gold and white calligraphy. His personal crest a phoenix in flight was engraved on the stock. The stock itself was black with white trim. Lucia's collection of Dust was resting below the weapon sitting on the mantelpiece. "Looks like he may take after both of his parents when it comes to weapons." The headmistress of Beacon chuckled as she rocked Martin in her arms. The same thought went through her mind as before. _"Let's hope he does not take after his grandfather as well when it comes to violence."_ She thought.

One of the servants, a young boy no older than ten passed her another message before quickly covering his nose as a sneezing fit claimed him. Unlike the others, which dealt with Lucia's work as the headmistress of Beacon, this one required her to authorize the shipping of dust from the Rose family dust and ore mines to the Schnee Dust Company. Lucia signed it without a second glance. Trusting that her friends Marcus and Martha Schnee would see to their payment.

"Were there any other messages, Kline?" Lucia asked, once the sneezing fit passed.

"No, Ma'am. Thou-" The young boy started, voice barely above a whisper, was cut of by another sneeze, as he continued though Lucia noted the change that had taken place in Kline's demeanor. "Though if you have anything you would wish to send out I can get it done swiftly!" Kline's soft spoken voice, replaced by one brimming with confidence.

"No, thank you Kline. Though if you'd like, I made a fresh batch of cookies. They should be cooled enough, go on and take a few." Lucia replied, a slight smile on her face as the young boy walked off to the kitchens. "I was worried Kline's… situation would keep him from being effective." The headmistress said, rocking Martin slightly.

"He may be strange, but I find his multiple personalities are just another bright spot here at the manor." Carver said simply. The Commander looked forward to keeping the lad in service to the Rose family for a long time. "If anything, I can see him becoming Head Butler at his current rate."

* * *

 ** _One Year Later_**

Carver was going through the reports from his scouts that were stationed on the outskirts of Vale. According to them, the Grimm population was beginning to thin. He started thinking about the party that was being planned downstairs. "This just made today even better. Less Grimm means less trouble on Martin's birthday." He said quietly. Lucia was getting everything ready for Martin's first birthday party. Jack and Diane Belladonna and Michael and Sarah Field were also on their way to help set up. They were also going to bring their children. The Field twins Qrow and Summer, and the Belladonna's only son Mark. Lucia and Carver had asked Marcus and Martha Schnee as well, but as usual neither of them could be pulled away from the Atlas branch of the SDC. Though they were sending their son Daniel with his nursemaid, he was also going to be attended by one of the Dragon Guard, the SDC's private security force lead by the Onyx family in Atlas. Carver sighed thinking about it. "Getting that pair to actually have some fun and involve themselves in Daniel's life is like trying to train a beowolf. They get entirely too wrapped up in their work." He muttered.

The archer stood up when the doorbell rang. "I'll get it, Lucia! That should be our guests." He started making his way towards the door, whistling as he went. He opened it to reveal his friends. He smiled at them and quickly ushered them into the Manor. The four families had attended Signal and Beacon Academy together. In Carver's opinion, they had only survived those eight years because of the bond that formed between them. "Welcome back home, my friends." Caver laughed, pulling the four into a group hug. Daniel's nursemaid wisely stayed out of it. Though she did smile, the festive air of the Rose Manor was contagious. The Dragon Guard stood stiffly to the side, hands folded at rest. "Come on, Lucia is in the kitchen finishing the cake."

Calling the monstrosity being made in the kitchen a cake was an understatement. Lucia's one hobby when she wasn't hunting Grimm and running Beacon was baking. She was somehow making the cake into a perfect small-scale replica of Beacon Academy out of chocolate cake and cookies. "Kline dear, pass me the frosting, please. I just need to finish these eaves!"

"Achoo! RIGHT AWAY MA'AM!" The boy answered, snapping quickly to attention and passing the frosting bowl to Lucia.

"Almost… got it! Finally finished the cake!" Lucia exclaimed as the sound of a stop watch clicked and she checked the time. "Twelve seconds faster than usual."

"I'm not letting Summer anywhere near those sweets of yours, especially since you were the one to get me hooked on them, Lucia!" Sarah Field said when the new arrivals walked into the kitchen.

Diane Belladonna chuckled, remembering the scene. "We couldn't get you to stop running around the dorm for three hours." The feline-phoenix said, breaking off a small piece of a cookie and giving it to her son Mark.

Sarah scowled at her. She didn't notice that Diane's husband, Jack, had slipped a cookie over to Summer. The fledgling phoenix took one bite... before suddenly running off as fast as her little legs could carry her. The fledgling had started crawling only a few weeks after she was born, two months and Summer was walking, and the now five month old phoenix Faunus was now currently out running her own father.

"Summer! Come back here you little speed demon!" Michael called as he chased the infant.

"I'm glad Qrow, Daniel, and Mark aren't like this. One sugar powered running child in Rose Manor is enough for the time being." Daniel's nursemaid said, sighed.

"Give them time, Ma'am, and they'll be running around without the need to supervise them." Kline said, a wide smile on his face as he watched the antics currently unfolding in Rose Manor.

The world of cookies would never be the same again now that little Summer Field had become addicted to the sweets. It was a very eventful and very messy first birthday party for Martin Rose, heir to the Rose legacy.


End file.
